Specialty/Areas of Interest:

Courses Taught:

General Psychology, Psychology of Marriage, Death & Dying, Global Health Disparities, Social Psychology and Psychology of Black Males

Brief Bio:

Dr. Ronald K. Barrett, professor of psychology and chair of the Psychology Department at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where he created and teaches a course (with an accompanying lab) on the Psychology of Death & Dying among other topics. From 2004 - 2008 he served as Acting Chair of the African American Studies Department at LMU. He is an internationally recognized specialist on the study of cross-cultural differences in death, dying and funeral rites and has published widely on African American funeral practices and multicultural perspectives. He has served as a consultant to groups locally and nationally including the Open Society Institute, Los Angeles and Philadelphia County coroner’s offices, etc. . He is widely known for his expertise on urban youth homicidal violence. He has been a featured national teleconference speaker on the Hospice Foundation of America’s 1995 (“Children Mourning, Mourning Children”), the Service Corporation International 1997 (“Communities in Crisis: Safeguarding our Kids at School and on the Streets”), and the Hospice Foundation of America’s 1998 (“Living with Grief: Who We Are - How We Grieve”). He is a speaker, social advocate, researcher, and author of numerous scholarly projects on children, youth and death & dying. He has ten years of “hands on” experience as the founder & project director of a grass-roots urban anti-gang, drug & violence prevention program in South Central Los Angeles (The United Methodist Junior Basketball League & Youth Employment & Development Project). The project received numerous citations and awards. In 1998 he was recognized and honored for this work as an Expert in Residence via a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. He has worked on the treatment end as well working in research and design of grief support groups and methodologies in the treatment of traumatic loss in young inner city children. He is also actively involved in the HIV/AIDS community as well and is widely known nationally for his work and consultations on “Bereavement Burnout Prevention.” His international involvements include consultations, research, and teaching in London (2012), Uruguay (2012), Germany (2008 & 1995), seminars in Australia (1998), and Ghana (2001). During his sabbatical in 2001 Dr. Barrett studied funeralization & aftercare practices among West African Akan in Ghana & Blacks and in the Caribbean. He created and teaches a seminar on the “Psychology of Men” and regularly conducts workshops on “Men and Grief” and “Epidemic of Depression in Black Males.” Dr. Barrett is a member of the Association of Death Education & Counseling (ADEC) and is the founder & past chair of the ADEC People of Color Forum and the ADEC Multiculturalism Committee. In 2003 Dr. Barrett received the ADEC Certification in Thanatology and in 2007 received the highest ADEC certification - Fellow in Thanatology. He is also a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying & Bereavement.

Lucke, G., Gilbert, R. with Barrett, R. (2005) “Overcoming Death’s Sting: Protestant Beliefs and Rituals: The Last Mile of the Way for African Americans.” In K. Garces-Foley’s (Ed.) Death and Religion in a Changing World. Armonk, NY. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 122-146.

Barrett, R. K. (2003) “Can We Provide Better Aftercare to Blacks? (Questioning the Efficacy and Cultural Relevance of Prevailing Models and Approaches of Aftercare” In Morgan ‘s (Ed.) Death and Bereavement Around the World: Volume II, Death and Bereavement in the Americas. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishers, Inc., 57 - 73.

Barrett, R. K. (1998) “Sociocultural Considerations for working with Blacks Experiencing Loss and Grief" In K. Doka's (Ed.) Living With Grief: How We Are - How We Grieve. Washington, D. C.. Taylor & Francis Publishers, Inc., 83 - 96.

Barrett, R. K. & L. DeSpelder (1997) “A Cross National Study of Children’s Perceptions of Death and Dying” (Presentation at the Association for Death Education and Counseling National Conference - April 1997).